S&D fight for sustainability and food safety in the interests of European citizens

Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament took another step in the progressive direction today by voting for modernising the requirements for the sale of fertilising products in Europe, which will contribute to moving towards a true circular economy. With these new rules, up to 30% of Europe’s need for phosphate-based fertilisers could be met by recycling nutrients from what could otherwise be disposed of as waste. Ensuring safety and high quality of fertilising products is also crucial for agricultural sustainability, for food safety and the protection of the environment.

Marc Tarabella, S&D negotiator on this report, said:

“For us S&Ds, the goals of sustainability, food safety and the protection of the environment go hand in hand with ensuring that our farmers can use affordable and high-quality products throughout Europe. The new rules maintain this balance, and will encourage the development of innovative products that could help farmers get better yields. Moreover, even though some member states and the conservative political forces showed during the negotiations very little ambition to put the protection of human health and the environment as their priority, we fought to ensure that the modernisation of the Regulation does not compromise on the safety and wellbeing of our citizens and the environment.

“With today’s vote, we move towards a safer, cleaner and more environmentally friendly Europe. Without clean and healthy soils, we cannot ensure sustainability and food safety of our agricultural output. The new rules on fertilising products will improve the safety of the products on the common European market by strictly limiting the levels of any harmful substances in these products, such as cadmium, and promoting the production of bio-waste fertilisers: these measures will help the farmers to protect their soils. This is why the Socialists and Democrats fought for an ambitious outcome in the interest of the health of all European citizens.”